March 9-15, 2014: The week in news

Every Sunday, HT brings to you an e-bulletin to ensure you do not miss big stories that broke during the previous seven days. Sit back and take a look at the week that was.

March 9: Sunday

Raj supports Modi, but his Sena may hurt BJP

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray backed BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi even as he went against the saffron party’s wishes, announcing he would contest the Lok Sabha elections. Releasing a first list of seven names, Raj, 45, fielded candidates against the Shiv Sena in six seats and against the BJP in one. Read More...

Malaysian jet goes missing, terror link probe begins

Terror probe began into the disappearance of a Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 on board — including five Indians — over the South China Sea on Saturday. The jet was presumed to have crashed. Despite rescue efforts by several countries, no trace of the Boeing 777-200 was found after it lost contact with air traffic control. Read More...

A woman cries during a special prayer session for the family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in a Buddhist temple in Subang Jaya. (Reuters Photo)

March 10: Monday

MPs, MLAs can no longer use trial delays as escape route

Lawmakers facing criminal charges can no longer take advantage of protracted trial to continue in office as the Supreme Court set a one-year deadline for completing the proceedings after framing of charges. The order, aimed at cleaning up the political system, has the potential to bring to an abrupt end many political careers with the court having already ruled that an MP or an MLA convicted and sentenced to two years or more in jail be disqualified immediately. The disqualification continues for six years after the completion of sentence. Read More...

Ex-Infosys CFO, Delhi scribe on AAP fourth list

A former Infosys director, a prominent Shia cleric, an investigative journalist and a satirist were among the 61 candidates named by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its fourth list for the Lok Sabha elections. Bengaluru is set to see two former Infosys honchos make poll debut, with AAP fielding former chief financial officer of the IT giant V Balakrishnan from Bangalore Central. The Congress on March 8 named Infosys cofounder and Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani as Bangalore South candidate. Read More...

March 11: Tuesday

Maoists ambush troops in Chhattisgarh, kill 16

In an apparent warning ahead of general elections, Maoists ambushed a joint security team in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, killing 15 personnel and a civilian. This is the deadliest strike the state has seen since the rebels wiped out almost the entire leadership of the Congress in Bastar in May 2013. On Tuesday, the troops were ambushed on the stretch between Jhiram Ghati in Bastar and Tongpal in Sukma, 15km from the spot of last year’s attack. Read More...

An injured man being taken for treatment after the Maoist attack in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. (PTI Photo)

Rahul tears into Modi, compares him to Hitler

In his sharpest attack yet on Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi compared the BJP’s PM candidate to Adolf Hitler, saying the German dictator believed whatever decisions he took were the best. Gandhi, who is leading the Congress’ campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, chose Modi’s home turf to tear into the Gujarat strongman. Read More...

March 12: Wednesday

Anna calls in sick, Didi’s Delhi debut a big flop

Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee was left red-faced at her first rally in New Delhi as social activist Anna Hazare stood her up at the very last minute, apparently disappointed by the thin crowd at the event. Officially, the Trinamool leadership maintained Hazare had opted out because of a throat infection. But the 76-year-old Gandhian, camping just 4km away from the Ramlila Maidan venue, reportedly told party general secretary Mukul Roy that he’d earlier gathered lakhs of supporters at the grounds — an apparent reference to the lokpal movement in 2011 — and couldn’t address just few thousand people. Read More...

A man holds up Mamata Banerjee's poster at her Ramlila Grounds rally in New Delhi. (Vipin Kumar/HT photo)

IPL goes to UAE, to be back for playoffs

The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick-off far away from home due to the upcoming general elections in India. The cricket board announced that the initial matches in the 47-day tournament would be staged in the United Arab Emirates from April 16 to 30. The tournament, stretching from April 16 to June 1, thus will not go to South Africa as the IPL officials look to bring it back to India at the earliest to appease sponsors and ensure gate receipts. Read More...

Sending a strong message to perpetrators of “grotesque and ghastly crimes against women”, the Delhi high court upheld the death sentence awarded to four convicts in the 16/12 gang rape-murder case. “The case, without a shadow of a doubt, falls in the category of rarest of rare where culpability has assumed the proportion of extreme depravity,” a division bench of justice Reva Khetrapal and justice Pratibha Rani said, dismissing the convicts’ appeals against the death penalty awarded by a trial court. Read More...

In a rare occurrence for the Congress, several suggestions floated by Rahul Gandhi’s key aides were shot down by party veterans at an internal meeting on the 2014 manifesto, sources told HT. The differences underline the growing chasm between the old guard and Team Rahul and illustrate the magnitude of the young vice-president’s task as he leads the party into next month’s general election. Read More...

Jet ‘deliberately’ diverted, hunt moves towards Chennai coast

The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner moved closer to India’s east coast on a day the investigation focused on foul play after evidence suggested that flight MH370 was deliberately flown across the Malay peninsula towards the Andaman Islands. Malaysia requested India to scour an expanse of more than 9,000 sq km in the Bay of Bengal for the plane that went missing on March 8 with 239 people, including five Indians, on board less than an hour after take-off. Read More...

This handout photo shows a Royal Malaysian Navy Fennec helicopter preparing to depart to aid in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane (AFP photo)

March 15: Saturday

Modi takes Holi dip in Varanasi

Putting a lid on endless speculation and squabbling, the BJP announced that its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi would contest the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi. It believes this would boost the party’s prospects not just in UP but in neighbouring Bihar as well. “With blessings of Ganga Mata & Kashi Vishwanath, let us work towards success of Mission272+ & create a strong, vibrant & prosperous India… Grateful to the Party for giving me opportunity to contest the election from the holy city of Varanasi! An honour to contest from Varanasi,” Modi tweeted. Read More...

Supreme Court stays death penalty of two

Two days after the Delhi high court (HC) upheld the death penalty awarded to four convicts in the December 16 gang rape case, the Supreme Court (SC) stayed the execution of sentence for two of them. A division bench stayed till March 31 the execution of the death sentence of Mukesh and Pawan, who had moved the court earlier in the day complaining of an unfair trial. Read More...